Syracuse weather

[Glen NY]

When I compare winter upstate to winter here, the temperatures are a bit colder upstate. The big difference is the snow, we don't get that much on long island. That means no sking at all, no snomobiling, no sledding. If you want to do any outdoor activities you will have to travel 3-4 hour to upstate where residents enjoy their winters. Down here we just hide inside until winter is over and if we are lucky enough to afford we take a ski trip up north. Either way I usually treat myself to a February vacation to a sunny southern resort, it does break up the winter.

[jennyrobot]

Ok, I am 25+ miles North of Syracuse, I am a southern girl, and lived for several years in AZ. We did live in a suburb of Syracuse about 10 years ago, and our current place gets a heck of a lot of snow. My husband likes to say that up in the snow belt we get more snow than most of Alaska.

It seems that snow removal is a quick process up here. I have only had a few times where I felt I shouldn't drive, and usually the streets have been passable within minutes to hours depending on the swiftness and severity of it.

Ok, so on to the original post about sun vs clouds. Just like anywhere you will have periods of time without seeing the sun, and for a gardener like me, a week can feel like a month. I don't notice anything particularly disheartening, and I have a personal saying that if it's going to be cold it might as well snow. Back home it would seem as if all fall and winter were nothing but cloudy days, and no light ahead.

[bellafinzi]

This may help a little so you know what to expect in Upstate NY (outside the Hudson Valley).

Average number of sunny/partly cloudy weeks per month**
November: 1 week of sunny/partly cloudy days..................... (roughly 7 days)
December: 1 week of sunny/partly cloudy days..................... (roughly 7 days)
January: 1 and half weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days.... (roughly 9 days)
February: 1 and half weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days... (roughly 10 days)
March: 2 weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days.................. (roughly 13 days)
April: 2 weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days.................... (roughly 15 days)
May: 2 weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days...................... (roughly 16 days)
June: 2 and half weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days......... (roughly 18 days)
July: Almost 3 weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days............. (roughly 20 days)
August: 2 and half weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days....... (roughly 18 days)
September: 2 and half weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days. (roughly 16 days)
October: Almost 2 weeks of sunny days/partly cloudy days....... (roughly 11 days)

**Info is from the Storm Team Calendar (NC9 in Syracuse)

Of course these are the averages. Some years you'll see more sunny days/partly cloudy days, some years less sunny days per month. All depending on the weather pattern. For example, November and December 2007 were cloudier than normal. But September and October 2007 were sunnier than normal.

Keep in mind that these sunny and partly cloudy days do not include the 30+ days during the year where the sun comes out an hour or two before sunset. This winter I remember numerous times the sun came out just as the sun was about to set. So you'd see the sunset and see the stars, but that day went down in the stat books as a cloudy day since most of the day was cloudy.

Map of US

[IMG] cloudymapsmaller by , on Flickr[/IMG]

If you think Syracuse is cloudy during the winter, try spending a winter around Pittsburgh, PA.


greatlakcloudy by , on Flickr

Here is a comparison with Seattle, WA.

seattlecloudy by , on Flickr

[bellafinzi]

Lake Effect Snow = Light Fluffy

Please try to bare with me. This is one weather fact that you'll never hear from the Weather Channel. Hopefully folks outside the Great Lakes will understand snowfall around the Great Lakes better if this is explained.

Lake Effect Snow adds up faster, thus higher snowfall totals in places like Syracuse. Why?

Lake Effect Snow is much lighter in weight than snow that comes with low pressure storm systems. And about 70% of Syracuse’s snow comes from Lake Effect snow. Which is about 75-85 inches of snow each year. My point? The lighter/dry lake effect snow builds in height much faster than wet/heavy snow. That means higher snowfall totals for Syracuse and other lake effect prone cities. I’d estimate that lake effect snow piles up three times more than heavier wet snow. That means that Syracuse’s 75 inches of lake effect snow is equivalent to 25 inches of wet heavy snow.

What does this mean? If 70% of the snow that fell on places like Chicago, and Minneapolis and Boston was lake effect snow, they’d average 80+ inches of snow each year.

Heavy wet snow compacts on itself when it falls to the ground. So when someone goes out to measure it, the wet snow accumulates very little. Thus less total accumulation from snowstorms.

On the other hand, most lake effect snow is very light and fluffy. So when it falls to the ground, it doesn’t compact. Often times when someone goes to measure the fluffy snow from lake effect, it is measured in feet, not inches.

Sorry for the terrible explanation. Did my best to explain a weather fact that is almost never spoken about in the media.

[bellafinzi]

Average High Temperatures in Syracuse by Month

1st half of January......... 32
2nd half of January......... 31
1st half of February........ 32
2nd half of February....... 35
1st half of March........... 39
2nd half of March........... 46
1st half of April.............. 53
2nd half of April............. 59
1st half of May.............. 66
2nd half of May............. 71
1st half of June............. 76
2nd half of June............ 79
1st half of July.............. 81
2nd half of July............. 82
1st half of August.......... 81
2nd half of August......... 78
1st half of September.... 74
2nd half of September.... 69
1st half of October........ 64
2nd half of October....... 57
1st half of November..... 52
2nd half of November.... 45
1st half of December..... 39
2nd half of December.... 35

[cabinman]

Ok let me jump in here too. I have lived just north of Syracuse for the past 23 years. North Carolina for a while before that, but I was born and raised in Vermont. Phish Head, Too late, Vermont was taken over years ago. Many natives including yours truley had to leave because we could no longer afford to live there.

I currently live on the southern edge of the famed Tug Hill snow belt. Winters can be tedious. Very grey and lots of snow, but the rest of the year is as nice as most anywhere in my opinion. The property taxes are higher than they should be but property values are much lower than most places. Your dollar goes a long way in the housing market here.

As far as the Carolina's go. As long as you stay to the far west western area where the mountains are you are Ok. The Piedmont and coastal areas are way too muggy and hot in the summer for me. I lived there for a while back in the early 80's in the Fayetteville area. VERY HOT and HUMID.

[work2much]

The Syracuse NY area has all four seasons. Spring can start in March, but generally count on April, as far as temps go. April showers do bring May flowers in this area. From May - Mid September it is nice, generally 65 - 85 degrees. Sometimes a little hotter. Can get pretty muggy, but that usually last for only a few days at a time. Mid September - October, things start to cool down. Nights can go to 40 - 45, days around 50 - 70. Some rain but not too much. November it starts raining more. We used to get a lot of snow in mid to late December, but not much in the past 10 years or so. Generally, winter has been kicking in in late December or January. The lake effect snow that everybody hears about is just that - From Lake Ontario. If the weather turns cold, really cold, the lake has a better chance to freeze or at lease get cold. When this happens, there is less lake snow. If temps stay warmer, the lake stays warmer and once the winds start blowing from the west or from the north, they come across the warmer lake and pick up moisture, which turns to either snow or rain, but the areas that get this snow is generally north of the Thruway, and in most instances, 30 miles north, not just 10 minutes north. In the actual city of Syracuse, I don't think we get more that 2 or 3 feet of snow per year. This area offers a lot. Many, many clean lakes, and one pretty dirty one. Mountains to the northeast, and southeast. Wine country to the east. NYC is about 4.5 hours to drive. Boston is about 3 hrs. Montreal and Niagara Falls are within about 3 hrs. A lot if fishing, hunting biking, skiing and other outdoor activities. Many things going on in Downtown Syr. throughout the summer.

[mbeds]

I love Spring, summer and fall from April through October. Nov-MArch can be tough if you are not an outdoors person. I have heard people say syr in winter is like summer in south, you stay inside cuz it is cold up here and unbearably hot down there. winter activities will make winter go quicker. the snow, if you are not used to it can be tough, lots of shoveling and snowblowing especially if you live 20 miles north of syracuse. As for April through Oct, I'll take those three seasons more than any other spot in the country, I have been all over too.